Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year My Peeps


There's just so much to celebrate kids!!! So y'all join in and do the Happy Dance with me!!! (Yes, you too!)

The end of the another year is upon us, and there are a lot of fond memories to look back on (many of them involving poker exploits of some sort or another.) And tonight we usher in a brand-spankin' new year that's just chock full of potential and the unknown. These are indeed strange and wonderful times in which we live!

I hope each of you has BIG PLANS for the New Year's Eve and that you've designated your DD for the coming libations. We have ours picked (thank goodness it ain't me) and if that were to fall through, hey the Eagles is less than a mile from home, I can always stumble that far... : )

Other reasons which are cause for celebration are a total (after this post goes up) of 288 posts to this blog for the year, 2008. Maybe nobody reads this tripe, but I enjoy writing it and Blogger just keeps letting me go on and on. I've made a lot of great online and offline friends as a result of the blog and that's more than I ever expected from it. And the N Debt Poker Tour (NDPT) just keeps feeding the poker addiction, too.

I've got the love and support of my family, happiness, and more material goodies than I can shake a stick at. Life is good, people! And if that's not enough need I remind you of the post which preceded this one? Uhmmm hello, Las Vegas... me... February 15th through the 18th. And oh oh oh... hotel reservations at Paris Hotel and Casino! Uhhh, "oui oui oui" or "WEE WEE WEE," take your pick; either exclamation sums it up just right!

Yeah, your ole pal cheer_dad's having himself one fantastic year. I'm glad you could be a part of it. But as I've heard said before, wait til next year, "you ain't seen nothin' yet!"

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

50% off Las Vegas flights!!!


Boys and girls, this could happen. Click the picture or this link if you don't believe me, but Southwest Airlines is offering flights to Vegas for 50% off!!! I already plugged in some dates and found round-trip, non-stop flights from Columbus, OH to Las Vegas, NV for $140! Couple that with the recent fliers from "Total Rewards" properties offering up FREE nights, plus some other goodies... this may be more than do-able. I'm awaiting the arrival of Big Red to the workplace, for a little chit-chat on the subject.

Everyone start sending me all the positive energy you can muster... together, we can make this happen!!!

***EDIT #1*** Big Red has arrived, discussed fully... tentative dates (at least for the two of us) are February 15 - 18 obviously on the "non-stops" from Columbus, OH. I've sent an email to some of the NDPT crew, to let them know about it. I'm waiting (briefly) for some response from some of them right now, but basically I'll be booking these within an hour or so. Is it wrong that I'm so cheap? Or is that just good bankroll management?

***EDIT #2*** Flight has been booked kiddies! Not only for Big Red and me, but we've already got company from the Brotherses' and Uncle June too! More to come, I'm sure. Now, where's that "Total Rewards" card so I can look up some room offers! And to think I thought today would just be a lousy/boring day at work!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Sunday, December 28, 2008

I'm a WINNER...

Despite the fact that somebody said I was a "woozer" last night, I'm a WINNER! In last night's NDPT End-of-the-Year Extravaganza I miraculously took down the top spot. Although turnout was light we still played and had a great time. (14 players showed up to flaunt their poker prowess.) For a while there in the beginning, I was getting spanked by an unforgiving river card at my first table, and Jody was all too willing to stick it to me. She drew out on me a number of times. TJ commented on that, and it helped me keep my sanity in check for a while. But I managed to get myself back up to treading water level and I just hovered around the original buy-in level for a while. When the table got extremely short, I hit a few hands, which pumped me up a little higher than I'd been all night. I do have to say that a late position call into a family pot with Q-9os did wonders for my stack, when I hit QUADS and got paid with them. We went to a single table, when we went down to 9 players. I just don't like collapsing to 10 players, it seems too crowded. At any rate, I drew the small blind and it turned out to be the best place to be. Although, it didn't feel like it at the time. I nearly bubbled the tournament in 5th place. A couple hands before I got tangled up with Steve, when I looked down at pocket Queens, and I pushed hard preflop, for around 5X the BB. Steve called my all-in, all-in himself for less... His A-5os found a lucky Ace and had me reeling from the feeling! So, there I was with only one option left in the arsenal. I had only 375 in chips left and the blinds were 150/300. I had dismal cards until the BB rotated back around to me. I didn't even bother looking and just sat my total chips in front of me on the cards and declared that it would cost 'em the additional 75, as I was going all-in blind. I got two callers! The cards came down, and Steve missed, and TJ flipped over a pocket pair of 5's. So, now I had to look, and found a K-8os, but I had hit the 8 on the River! That helped... Scott finally went out in the bubble position, so now it was just time to see who would get paid the top spot. I started hitting cards, and some fantastic position bluffs too. There was some good fortune involved there... I guess Lady Luck thought I had it coming after the beat-down on the pocket Queens. Anyway, Steve, and then TJ went out leaving it down to Mike R and I. Mike had a chip lead on me, and at first when the cards were far below average there for a few hands, I thought I was going to fold my way into 2nd place, but then things turned around. I started hitting 2 pair on the flop. The final hand, I held J-8os and hit two-pair. Mike bet out on me, and I went over the top for all of it. Mike called with his J-4os, and was basically drawing dead. So, finally I put a good game in the "W" column and end the year on a positive note. Wahoo!

Thanks to all of you who showed up to play, and thank you for the great times that we've had throughout the year. I look forward to many more NDPT poker in the coming year.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Saturday, December 27, 2008

NDPT End-of-the-Year Extravaganza

It's here! The NDPT End-of-the-Year Extravaganza!!! Tonight is the final game of the year for the "N Debt Poker Tour" clan. Turnout tonight is going to be light, but the competition will still be fierce. Gametime is at 6:00pm here at my house. I won't be in as big of a rush as I thought, since I'm not taking Cole to his basketball game now. His Mamaw Flanagan is taking over that responsibility for the evening. That way I'll be a little more relaxed and not so stressed out when we shuffle up and deal.

Hope to see you all real soon.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas


The living room now looks like a wrapping paper wasteland, and even the little guy is exhausted from ripping open his presents. Can I go before Congress to request my chunk of the Relief Package now?!? Oh wait... Santa bought all that, didn't he!

Hope this day finds each of you well, and with those you love.

From all of us to all of you, Merry Christmas!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Timely



I know the image is small, but trying to give a screenshot of the timeliness of the friggin' email alerts around here. Buncha bullshit!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

P.S. enjoyed the Members' Party anyway!!! ; )

Merry Christmas Eve

Well here I sit... awaiting an impending (hopeful) early dismissal from the dismal (work.) It's Christmas Eve and the government does "usually" kick us to the curb around the noontime hour on such occasions. Then again, you just never know with some members of management. Regardless though, one way or the other, early dismissal or no... cheer_dad will be leaving early. I'll take the leave if I have to. Today beginning at 1:00 - 2:30 the Eagles is having their members' Christmas Party. I know that seems awful short for a party, but hey they close up the joint after that, and to soften the blow, they open up the bar and hand out free food and more importantly BOOZE!!! Oh yeah, I may just find out how much Jack Daniels can be downed in a single sitting. : ) Reacquaint myself with one of the 3 wise men (so to speak) during this holiday season. Okay, I can't get totally shnockered, I have to save some wiggle room for the Christmas Eve party tonight at the Brothers' house. I know I've lost time and killed brain cells at some of these previous parties. At my age I can't stand to lose much of either!

Saturday is the NDPT End of the Year Extravaganza at my house. Turnout may or may not be light. I'm fairly confident that I will have around 16 of you degenerate gamblers at the house to play. It's been a great year playing with each and every one of you, and I hope to continue it for many years to come. As long as you keep showing up, I'll keep dealing, that's a promise. As for Saturday game time is 6:00pm, although I may be in a rush, since I just found out that Cole has a basketball tournament at 4:30, so I may be hustling to get there in time for my own damn tournament. Go figure.

If I don't see you before... have a Merry Christmas. Hope Santa brings you everything you asked for.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Monday, December 22, 2008

2-hour delay

Yet another 2-hour delay in the Wood County, WV school system for the year. This time not a flake of snow on the ground, but frigid temperatures (at least for this area.) I'm not sure what the morning low was, but I know last night at 10:00pm the mercury had dropped to around 12 degrees! And don't even forget about the howling winds. With the number of students that ride buses and stand out in the cold, THIS was a good call on the part of the Board. Besides, it makes the kids less cranky in the mornings. Extra couple of hours of shut eye does the trick every time. Busy day on my day off. GRRRRR! Of course get the kiddies to school here in just a bit. Then, it's off to Marietta, OH to get the car serviced at the dealership, then back for some additional service (removal of a small dent by the "Dent Doctor." THEN, I have to get some last minute shopping in for Big Red. I know what I want to get, but just have to squeeze in the time for it, before it's time to pick up the kidlets from school. I don't know yet if Cole has practice or not. Whitney's on the other hand was CANCELLED! Yeah!!! Although, I would likely have let her drive herself. Of course, then I couldn't relax then either until she pulled back in the driveway safe and sound. Beyond all that, I'm sure there are details that I'm forgetting but they'll present themselves as the day goes on.

Time for the dad-taxi to pull out. Later all.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Sumpin' sumpin'

Great time and Whitney and Brady's 16th Birthday Party! Hope you two enjoyed it! Whitney had JoJo and Becca and boyfriend Jordan over for a while. The girls spent the night, the bf did not. (Yeah, cheer_dad draws him some lines...) Up late, just wasting time watching the tube, and Teresa and some of the gang all hung out for a while afterward at the Eagles to chit chat. I stayed with the kids... and was happy to do it. Remember I was already tired. I slept in a bit today, and then got up and took Cole to his Rec league basketball game. Turns out he knows a lot of the kids, and one of them is even on the school team with him too. He did very well, and I can see that he has really begun to improve from last year, and is polishing some of the fundamental skills of the game.

After that, I foolishly agreed to go "shopping" (shudder) with Big Red for a few hours. The mall is packed and you know that's never my idea of a good time. Spent quite a bit of time in Victoria's Secret, which at least gives me a lil sumpin' sumpin' to look at. : ) I've said it before I'll say it again. YEAY Boobies!!!

I think we're staying in to watch movies tonight and just take it easy. Big Red invited Uncle June over if he wanted to, as we were driving home. When I got home I realized that he had texted me on my cell (that I'd left behind) asking if I was interested in heading south to play poker at the casino in Cross Lanes. Ahhh, makes sense now, his fiance is going in to work for the night.

I'm just blabbing here, I see now doing a quick re-read, so I'll bring it to a close and bid you adieu.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Friday, December 19, 2008

Whitney and Brady's Birthday Party

The day has dragged on and on. Following an uneventful (no winning) night at the Eagles last night, I fired up Bodog as you know I tend to do, when the urge hits and it often does when I've been drinking. Indulged myself only for an hour, and realized I was falling asleep while playing 3 tables, which isn't exactly condusive to winning. But remarkably one table really paid off and made up for the losing going on at the other two. I cashed out for a little over $13. Not terrible for an idiot! The morning however came much earlier than I would have liked. I've been nodding off for most of today, and I've finally shaken the headache.

Tonight is Whitney and Brady's combined 16th Birthday Party. It sounds like there will be an enormous crowd there tonight to help them celebrate. I will be late to the whole affair, because we found out last night that Cole has a basketball tournament at Blennerhasset tonight at 6:45. I'm hoping I can get in a few minutes of shut eye between 4:00pm and gametime. Who knows what all else I have to accomplish over this weekend. I know there'll be shopping at some point. I gotta find something for Big Red for Christmas. Although she'll likely return it anyway. : ) Sorry baby!

I'm nearly done for the day, and it's about time.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

PokerStars Blogger PLO8 rambling

While there's a lull in the PokerStars Blogger Tournament (PLO8) I thought I'd throw in a quick post. Of the 396 who signed up, there are 239 of us left, at the 1 hour break. I'm currently in 22nd place, but know full well that this thing is far from over. Seems that so many players are forgetting the low end hands, and fail to capitalize on them.

I wanted to mention that I've tried to do some housekeeping on the listing of Blogs that I read regularly, over there on the right-hand side of the page. Mainly added some that I should have added a long time ago! But the time never presented itself. Then you start "hanging" with the bloggers and begin to feel like you should be doing a better job of things. If you don't see your blog listed and think it should be... drop me a line and say so.

***Wow, I should have raised there, although I made enough on that hand to put me in 12th place! Flopped a set of 7's, and got lucky when the board paired and gave me a boat, 7's full of Kings. Guess I need to up the aggression a bit. : ) ***

Well before I donk off this session, I'm going to stop typing now!

EDIT: Now just over 2-hours in, and the field is down to 112, with the top 72 getting their seats to the Blogger Final, Top 45 for some additional PokerStars goodies. I am currently in 27th place... we shall see...

EDIT part deux: cheer_dad crashes and burns! Greed apparently go the better of me last night, hoping to climb higher and into one of the extra special packages. With a mere 76 players left (4 away from a ticket to the final) I put my foot down when the guy 3 seats to my left decided to buy the pot. He had been muscling the pot for a while and the tactic was becoming obvious. I called his preflop raise easily when I looked down at AdAsQh2d. I liked the hand up and down in PL08. The flop came J-10-3 or something like that, and he bet out, but not big. I called and the turn was another low card. Now, I'm trying to piece this all back together in my head since it was so late, but here was what I think happened. The aggressor bets out pot, which is now steep, I look to see what I have behind, and opt to shove with still my pair of Aces, with great draws to the nut high and nut low, and if I'm not crazy I think I might have had the nut diamond draw as well. He called with a smaller pair than my Aces. But the river filled in a straight for him when he hit a black 9. This unfortunate incident sent me to the rail just prior to 1:00am EST, licking my wounds... and without a seat in the final. I was too tired to do a screenshot, I was too tired to post, so I just went to bed and attempted to console my ego and cry my silent tears... : ) I'll paraphrase Worm this time: "...how come all your moves are so noble (when speaking to Mike) and I'm always the worthless piece of shit?!" Maybe not entirely accurate but that was the gist of it.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Blogger Tourney Exit


...and with that our "hero" takes his leave of the NLHE Qualifier of the Blogger Tournament being hosted this week by the fine folks at PokerStars. No blame to be assessed here. I raised from first position with the best hand I'd seen in several rounds, and was reraised. It wasn't even a matter of pot odds or ego. It just was. I got it all in with a great holding and it just happened to be second best. It's like 'Worm' said, "...hey I took my shot and I missed, it happens!" I went out in 152nd place out of the initial 559 who signed up. It would have been nice to score a seat to the Blogger Final, but I wouldn't change anything I did. I played a solid game. I'd like to say I should have loosened up, but honestly can't convince even myself of that. I stole a few hands, but just never really got chipped up to any comfortable level. Of all the tables that I could have been moved to, whadaya know, "wvwolfie" was sitting right across the table from me. Small world. Also BWOP (the black widow of poker) stopped by to say hey from the rail, and I thought that was really nice. Hey everyone likes to get noticed from time-to-time. : ) I had a really good time and it was nice to play amongst a few kindred blogger spirits, although I believe there were a few posers amongst the ranks! Up tomorrow in the Blogger Series is the PLO8 Qualifier at 22:00 EST. I'm hoping to make this one too! But you just never know how the day will shape up. Along these same lines, I really want to start trying to play in some of the Poker Blogger Sponsored tournaments. Very likely first on the list will be on Bodog, as I still have the bulk of my online cash there. But I have a few extra bills burning a hole in the wallet so I may migrate and branch out to a couple of other sites as well.

Have a good night folks...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Snow, a choir concert, and teachers?

Greetz my fellow penguins! As I was headed off to bed last night the weather hacks on our local tv station were calling for snow overnight, and treacherous conditions. I was skeptical as I fell asleep. I awoke this morning to initial alerts of a two-hour delay for school which was quickly upgraded to a complete cancellation. Generally speaking the kidlets are treated to more time off due to the predominant secondary roads in the outlying areas. Today, my thinking is that school officials were mostly concerned about the continued accumulation of the white stuff throughout the rest of the day. It's still coming down and I'm lovin' it!

Actually, the snow let me sleep in a bit. At first I was planning to take the kids in late to school for a two hour delay, but when they cancelled Teresa decided I could just drive us both to work. I usually start the day at 6:30, she not until 8:00-ish, after getting the kids to school. I only need the four-wheel drive in a couple of spots, but it was nice knowing it was there. Our office is supposed to be going to Logan's Steakhouse today for our Christmas Dinner, so that'll shorten up the day as well. : ) Of course making me fatter as well, but I did order the Mesquite Grilled Salmon, so I did "try" to eat healthy. I'll keep it down to only a couple of beer chasers! I need to fit in a workout today of some sort. I need to do both the bike and lift, but we'll see. I biked yesterday, which I've done now a few times since the knee has been bothering me so much. I'm a runner though and it's not my first choice, but honestly it hasn't been so bad, and I'll give the Bureau credit for buying some top notch Precor fitness equipment in the room downstairs!

No poker content today kids sorry. Last night was about getting Cole to and from basketball practice, Whitney from cheerleading practice, fed, and then back to her choir concert and then attending that along with my mom. So it was nearly 10pm when I got home and settled in. It was a fantastic concert! The music program at Parkersburg South High School is TOP NOTCH. The tradition of great music and support of the arts in general is very much alive and well in the Wood County, WV school district! The choir director, mentioned "my" old choir director last night and said that it had been her desire to continue the traditions and high standards of performance in keeping with the example which he had set, when she too was his student. I think of Dan Thomas (Mr. T) from time to time and remember him as a positive influence in my life. He taught me the values of striving for personal excellence BUT being part of a greater whole. He taught me to think for myself, and challenge conventional wisdom. All things which you wouldn't necessarily expect from a choir class. He is one of maybe 3 teachers which I remember fondly from my pre-college education who helped form the oddity that is "cheer_dad." In fact, those educators are: Mr. Thomas (11th-12th grade choir), Mr. Stout (9th grade English), and Mrs. Doherty (11th grade Humanities.) Thanks for giving me the tools to work with... (or should I say, "with which to work.") Sorry my prepositions still dangle every once in a while! ; )

Enough of the stroll down memory lane, get back about your business folks...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Sunday, December 14, 2008

The Yanok Poker-Palooza

The poker weekend with the Yanok's has now come and gone. Recall on Friday the December qualifiers were held there, to allow everyone to beef up their starting chip stacks which they would hold on Saturday's BIG GAME. Respective finishes throughout the year determined the size of your starting stack. I didn't cash in either game, but did "point-up" in one of them. I watched a lot of sick beats through the night. But the most treacherous part of the evening was actually the hill into their development! I did manage to get up it, but halfway up, was forced to stop and drop the truck into 4-wheel drive. Not a move I recommend on that hill. But I managed to get up. Then, I opted to drop off Teresa and Cole and drive back down to the lower level and park. I figured a slippery walk in the wee hours would be a safer "bet" than careening down the hill and plowing into some random house. That was likely the smartest thing I did all night. The cards just didn't really stack up very well for me. I had a few decent starting hands, that just never panned out. AK's and AQ's a few times which failed to connect. Too many people calling. There was a LOT of calling station action. Even by some people that don't even know it.

Anyway, we survived the drive home, after failing to cash, so we were out $120 total, $60 each. Ehhh... We arose the following day, and got ready and headed back to the Yanok's for the High Noon Year Ender! Chip stacks ranged from $1,400-ish to just under $200... I was in the 750 range and content. I was able to chip up to as high as $1,500 and felt pretty good about things, but then the cards dried up and I simply blinded away, and finally took a shot with Ace high from late position, and got spanked by my wife, with a much bigger Ace. She held AcJc and hit the nut flush. I only paired my measly 6, and my tournament life was over.

Then things got HAIRY! Not long after the group was down to the final four, the ones who were getting paid. Frank had managed to wrestle the chips to his side of the table thanks in part to a Hail Mary Play when he was down to his last $400 and called all in with a pair of 7's. Three other players were in it too! When they all flipped up, there were 4 pocket pairs! 77, 88, 99, and QQ!!! Frank boated by the river and Quadrupled up and a few rounds later found himself with a monster stack of chips. Scott Eddy had been chipped away for a while too, having started the final table with a monster stack too, but he was still surviving. Jerry and Teresa were also to be found, still struggling to survive. I watched as chips moved from person to person for quite awhile, and fortunes gained and lost by each of them. Jerry was the first casualty. Teresa battled her way back and played quite well, and hit some great hands to boot. She and Scott managed to wrestle away the chip lead from Frank. One key hand was between Teresa and he in which Teresa held AQos, to his A6. He hit a 6 on the flop, but Lady Luck dealt a fatal blow giving Big Red a much needed Queen on the River. Soon after Frank hit the rail, finishing in 3rd. Teresa and Scott played on for a bit, but not excessively until they got into a race situation that ended with Scott on top and with all the chips. Scott remarkably had started the day at the shallow end of the chip pool, with just over $200 chips in play, but had managed to outlast and chip up through the day to the eventual win. For his efforts he took down over $400, and Big Red happily settled for over $200 for the day. Not bad for a freeroll huh! So, she continues her winning ways and supports my poker habit. And you know what I'm just friggin' FINE with that!

Big Thanks to the Yanok's for hosting a fantastic time and we look forward to next year! Congratulations to Scott on the come from behind victory!

Also, one last note, I am considering CHANGING the day of the NDPT End-of-the Year Extravaganza to the 27th of December instead of the 20th, since there appear to be a lot of conflicts for that day. Please let me know your plans and if this works better for any of you that are planning to play in this $50 buy-in event.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Friday, December 12, 2008

Big Red Strikes Again

Back on Friday, October 3rd of this year, I typed out a post for the blog (http://ndebtpokertour.blogspot.com/2008/10/it-really-must-be-red-hair.html) which detailed the luck and winning nature of my lovely wife... the enigma that is Big Red. In it I informed you, dear readers, that the night before she had hit the "winner-take-all" drawing at the Eagles for $1,400. Since then I'm certain I've posted a time or so of her other winnings on the slot machines. It's uncanny, her luck. Last night Lady Luck slipped her the tongue again. Last night's drawing at the Eagles went to none other than Big Red!!! She adds to her treasure cache an additional $1,100. (Attendance was down, she had to settle for a few hundred less.) Awww! Oh and now a new superstitious ritual will probably be in play from now on, she was wearing the same outfit both times. Hell, I may start wearing the damn thing now.

What must it be like to walk around and be so lucky? It's a thing I shall never know. Congratulations baby!

There's a line in the movie Let It Ride starring Richard Dreyfuss, in which he reads his fortune cookie. It says, "You could be walking around lucky and not even know it." But in the case of my wife... I think she knows it!

Tonight is the Yanok's December qualifier poker tournament(s). I'm hoping desperately to pad my year end stack, with a couple of good finishes tonight. I may even play a little sober. Then, on in to Saturday for the actual year ending tournament, which the Yanok's are hosting beginning at High Noon. (It's a 2-day poker-palooza!) This one is a freeroll, for all of us, probably 15-18 players or so, with $1,000 in the prize pool. It all comes down to this boys and girls. Bring the "A" Game, and let's get it on!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Thursday, December 11, 2008

I'm for it!


Stumbled across this article http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20245896,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines (yeah like I read the article...) All-American girl Jennifer Aniston takes a walk on the wild side with this latest GQ magazine cover. Whatever the reason she's doing it, I'm for it. Nothing like a great tie to pull the whole ensemble together!

~go ahead take another look, i'll wait~

Okay, well I didn't have anything more to say, just thought I'd give you the opportunity to look again. Now stop staring and get back to work!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Street Legal


My "baby" girl has become mobile. Even more so than before! Tighten up those seat belts, and check the brake fluid... my daughter Whitney passed her driving test last night, and is now behind the wheel! That's right she is now Street Legal. Of course that's something completely different than "dad" legal, so the solo joy rides will be kept to a minimum. When the little blonde girl asked, "well if I can't drive now whenever I want, then what was the point of getting the license?" Big Red summed it up simply by saying... " it's just something else we can choose to take away from you, if you aren't doing what you're told!" : ) I nearly bit my tongue off to keep from laughing!!!

Whitney is now part of the driving legion, and gets all the benefits to which she is entitled, like backseat drivers, senior citizens on a Sunday drives, with the left blinker on for days, road rage, flat tires, all the real joys in life!

But in all sincerety I am SUPER proud of her for passing her test, and I'll be the first to point out that the parallel parking spot that the drivers have to manuever into now is a helluva lot smaller than it was when I took the test. Of course, I was taking the test in an Oldsmobile at the time! Nonetheless, congratulations baby girl! Great Job!

As for me, I'm in some pain today. My right knee is "screaming" right now. It had been aching last week, so I took 3-4 days off to give it some recuperation time. I ran yesterday, without much problem, but then after the 3 mile workout was done, and just normal walking through the rest of the day, became a problem. Last night it was all I could do to climb the stairs at the house to get to the bottle of Advil! Today, I skipped the workout altogether, but I'm in some pain, from just sitting here most of the day. Big Red called the doctor who is working me in for an x-ray. Although I think I'm dealing with a "soft-tissue" problem rather than bone. But maybe they'll be able to see where bone and bone grinding is taking place. I've said it before, but man it really SUCKS TO GET OLD!!! I hope they can present me with some viable options to get me back on the running trail. It'd be a shame to have come so far, dropping some pounds, feeling better, etc... and then have it all screwed up by an injury, or worse, the body just giving out.

Still on tap for this week: Thursday Night is the Eagles drawing. A couple jack and diets will help silence that damn knee! Friday is Poker Night at the Yanok's for their December qualifier(s) and then followed up the following afternoon by their Year End Tournament. Big Red and I working out some conflicts with Cole's basketball and bowling schedules to try and fit these games in. The mother-in-law may get elected. I really hate to have to miss a freeroll with a $1,000 prize pool for around 15 players... but I will if there's no other alternative. The KIDS do take precedent. (He just better play his little heart out!) : ) Maybe the new driver in the house, can pick up some of the slack, AHEM!!! I mean Uncle June has already determined that she can now be a designated driver!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Point and Counter Point

My friend wvwolfie proprietor and chief bottle washer over at the Riversedge Blog (http://frankwolfe.net/?p=159) put up a very thought-provoking post entitled "Is the popularity of poker diminishing?" He's got some very good points in there and it's a good read, but I offer up some different thoughts on the subject.

First, I'll grant that the numbers were down for NDPT #18; but I can't blame it on solely on the popularity of poker diminishing. I acknowledge that the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) put a damper on online poker, but it's done more to clear out the online gambling holes of fish than anything else. The competition that you encounter online at even some lower levels is vastly improved from the days of old. BUT, back to NDPT #18 and its low turnout. Headed into the game Saturday Night, I had 19 people on my list as confirmed to play. Outside that number, I know of an additional 4 that were otherwise committed to attending the WVU football game. Also, the surprise turn in the weather, caused some of the die-hards to back out and not show up. Two of the initial sign-ups backed out for fear of what the iced roads might mean for them to get home. Another late cancellation came from a player who was still on the road returning from a trip to see a child away at college and found that icey roads were delaying them. Still one other NDPT regular was off to play in Las Vegas at the time, so he gets a pass for the night. : ) Now, some of the larger numbers that we've seen recently at NDPT tournaments have included some new blood. I did not include everyone from the Eagles in my invitation, as I should have, since this was still a bit of a home game. Not that I have anything against any of the players there but the home games have typically been about close friends and a very tight-knit core group.

I CAN agree with wvwolfie on the fact that "we might have even been guilty of over saturating our own players." That is highly likely, since a lot of people still believed that they needed to attend every game. BUT from the outset of this year, my goal was to provide a number of opportunities, in different venues: homes, Eagles, etc... on different days, so that others might be able to attend. I think we actually picked up some really dedicated, fun players as a result of this widening of the net, but in other areas we've lost some people. We all have lives outside of poker. Between my daughter Whitney's cheerleading schedule and my son Cole's basketball schedule I'll admit even I'm stretched. That's why more often than not you'll find me drinking a bit too much to blow off steam rather than concentrating solely on the game. : ) But also, the Yanok's have stepped up the frequency of their games too. This year, they had a qualifier every month, and I think they may have thrown in another game or so as well. Plus, in the last couple months they have made BOTH games of the night qualifier games and so more people have been playing in BOTH games each time. This increased personal costs. But actually increased family (husband and wife) each putting up $30 for each game for $120 expense on the night.

JR is hosting the Eagles game, and promised a monthly tournament to see how things shape up over there. And wvwolfie has also offered up his home as another venue for the NDPT membership. Even Shuman has routinely held more of his cash games this year as well, and those are "meaty" as always. Admittedly, each location though, picks up players that sometimes won't play anywhere else, and that's okay.

Also, I know several of our "regular" players routinely play elsewhere, outside of the NDPT scope. And I'm all for it. That's great! Am I offended at not being invited? Hell no! I've got more opportunities to play than I can keep up with now. I think even now more and more people are playing, and more and more people are hosting their own home games and tournaments.

I think there has been a great increase locally even of a lot of underground cash games, (ones that are raking the pot) here in the Mid-Ohio Valley. Not only have several new games cropped up, but higher stakes has become the name of the game. Let me go on record officially, none of the NDPT games is a raked game. (Tell the SWAT team to friggin' stand down!)

As wvwolfie also pointed out the "legal" brick and mortar poker rooms at Wheeling, Chester, and most recently Cross Lanes further opened the poker market, BUT I haven't really noticed a shortage of players there. At least every week I hear of someone who has made a trip to one of the local casinos to play and found them really busy. But, I think people are really branching out to play other places and with other people. And that's okay too. Recall a scene from Rounders in which a number of the New York Rounders find themselves at the Taj in Atlantic City seated with one another and one of them laments, "...if we wanted to take each others rolls, we could've just stayed at home." And then, the "fish" begin to arrive at the table and the fun begins for all!

All I'm saying is this (yes Virginia there is a point to cheer_dad's story!!!)
The N Debt Poker Tour (NDPT) has most certainly created and improved a lot of poker players here in the Mid-Ohio Valley. Within our ranks are some VERY crafty players. The skill level has most definitely gotten a lot higher. There have been a few people show up at our games and commented to their buddies that they were "gonna show us how to play this game" and we sent them packing, with an emptier wallet. We have NEVER fleeced anyone though! I'd like for people to come back and play (and bring more money.) BUT not just for the money, also for the friendship of the thing. I have made a lot of good friends playing poker and wouldn't trade the time and experiences for anything.

In closing let me say this... I didn't write up this blog post to argue with "wvwolfie," I think he has some very valid points in his post, again found here, http://frankwolfe.net/?p=159 and besides that, he's a good friend of mine. But I can't subscribe to the point-of-view that in the area of the popularity of poker that "...we are about halfway down a long downward slope." Instead, I offer up that instead of a linear path, that poker in our neck of the woods has branched out in a lot of different ways. And that with the larger numbers of games and places to play, that some competition for the players time has been introduced. I for one can vouch for the fact that I've played a lot more live poker this year than I ever thought possible, and I didn't host 1/2 as many times as I did in previous years. I even turn down some games, in favor of others. Although, I still play online, my time in front of the computer screen has been reduced because of the large numbers of options at my disposal. There is a lot of variety out there, and I don't think things are going to dry up on us anytime soon.

Besides, my kids will be heading off to college before you know it, and not only will I have additional free time to play poker, but hell someone's gotta help me foot the bill for their tuition, and the wages my Uncle Sam is handing out are probably going to come up a bit short. So, dear poker fishes... Plea$e $end Monie$!!!

Let me know what you think gang... sound off in the comments section of this post.

Regards.

cheer_dad

Sunday, December 07, 2008

NDPT #18 Aftermath

Things always look more bleak when you drink.
It's not so bad! : )

Anyway NDPT #18 Matt Hensley wandered back to the game and came out the big winner last night. And as hard as it is for me to type this out. Steve "All-In" Allman is the NDPT Points Champion of 2008. Seriously though, Congratulations!!!

I went back and figured my win/loss from last night, and despite turning belligerent and exiting the cash game post haste, I made a few bucks. Of course I didn't cash in the tournament, but I did pick up 2 bounties for $10, and then cashed out for like $52 in the cash game. So, I paid in $25 + $20 and ended up with $62, for a $17 profit for the evening. Then, I decided to throw caution to the wind and fired up Bodog! I three tabled at $25 buyin, full-ring NLHE, and made another $21. So, like I said it wasn't too bad of a night after all. Yeah, I should prolly drink less when playing huh! : )

Anyway, time to call this a post, I gotta head to the store and pick up supplies for todays football game. Steelers vs. Cowboys! Big Red says I gotta cheer for the Cowboys!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

deal

Somehow cheer_dad always fucks up... go figure.
There is no winning.
Life is pain.
deal...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Saturday, December 06, 2008

NDPT #18 approaches

Soon the degenerate poker hordes will converge on our house to get NDPT #18 underway. The cards will be in the air at 6:00pm, despite the thin layer of snow and ice which covers the landscape. The slickest place I found today was the parking lot at Krogers when I went to pick up beer! Nearly fell there a couple of times, which felt great on my already aching knee. Friggin' physical fitness, running, and such! Anyway, to those who make their way here tonight, poker awaits, bring the A-game.

And tonight's the night, All-In Allman is dethroned from the points lead!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Thursday, December 04, 2008

PokerStars, World Blogger Championship of Online Poker

Online Poker

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

The WBCOOP is an online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers.

Registration code: 857867



Regards,

cheer_dad

Well it "started" as a quickie post

I'm working on my ambidextrous skills... not so much by choice. I'm a rightie, but today I'm switching my computer mouse over to the left hand. I've begun (again) to have pain in my right wrist, which hasn't gone away now for about a week or two now. It's a dull, nagging ache and is likely due to the repetitive motion of mouse clicking, the dreaded carpal tunnel. A few years of swinging a steel framing hammer in my younger years probably have had an effect on my wrist as well. I'll see if through "switch-hitting" I can give it some much needed down time. The click and select isn't giving me problems as much as copy and paste keyboard shortcuts are. I've always used the left hand while the right is occupied on the mouse, and the damned CTRL+C or CTRL+V just doesn't flow as freely using the right hand. I suppose I could remap, and really screw myself up! Yes, it sucks to get old.

Another haunting pain is a direct result of renewing my running routine. Since I started back up very seriously a few months ago on the treadmills here at work, I've come along further than I thought I would. I'm back up to running a little over 3 miles in a 30 minute time frame about 5 times per week. I've lost a little more than 20 pounds. : ) Another 20-30 to go and I'll be carrying a stick to keep all the babes away. NOT!!! The unfortunate side effect is of course another source of pain. This week it's my right leg, to the inner side of the knee. Inflammation, ache, and now I'm finally living better through chemistry, sucking down the ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation and make it less painful during continued running. Yes, I am continuing to run on it. As with all runners, if we didn't run, when we had a little pain, we'd soon be walkers or worse, couch potatoes! It's funny to feel a pain start up in one leg and slowly migrate itself around your body until it finally exits out the opposite leg. Someone once joked about that to me, but it is true. The body will overcompensate to favor the uninjured body part, but in the process put undo stress elsewhere causing additional problems and pain. YEEEEEAAAAAAH running!!! Anyway, I have loose goal of eventually getting down to around 175. From there I'll re-evaluate. But 175 is totally doable! At the height of my running in my past life, when I was putting in 30-40 miles per week on the pavement, and running a few long distance races, I got down to 148 pounds. BUT, Teresa reminds me that she didn't like how I looked at that point. More sickly than she cared to see me. Although the spandex running shorts and pants did garner a bit more of her attention. (How U Doin'!) I feel pretty motivated this time, despite the fact that I haven't been running outside this time. I decided to treadmill it so I would keep track of myself better, know the kind of pace I was keeping, and take the excuses of inclimate weather out of the equation.

I've also been lifting weights regularly 3-4 times per week, in addition to the 5-ish days a week of running 3 miles. But none of this stuff happens overnight though. It took time to pack on the weight, it'll take time to offload it as well. Regardless, I feel better, and from some of the comments I've received lately from some friends I hadn't seen in a while, they told me that I looked like I'd lost a lot of weight. That made me feel pretty good, and put a little extra spring in my step the next time I climbed on board the treadmill. But in the end, I'm doing this for me, and for no one else, and it's all about personal gratification. I'd say I'm "pleasuring myself" but that'd be a completely different topic that I just don't wanna cover! : ) Probably another possible cause of the carpal tunnel, huh!!!

Oh, and I promise some poker content will show up on this here poker blog... soon. I just haven't had time to play online, and live play has been merely a fond memory. Saturday though, the crew converges for NDPT #18 at my house, so there will be some cards in the air that night. After such a long hiatus, I'll likely bust out first...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Meanwhile back at the "poker" blog




back at the ole "poker" blog...

Yes, boys and girls once upon a time this was a blog about all things poker, at least in the low stakes, not very good at it; sense of the word. From time-to-time I meander off topic, but the few poor saps/devoted fans of this here blog seem to keep coming back. And eventually I get back on target with a post on that game we all love to hate, poker. I thought about posting my thoughts up about the 60 Minutes airing of the piece on the UB/AP (Ultimate Bet/Absolute Poker) cheating scandal, but honestly that's been done, and quite well I might add by some others. Go check out Shamus' synopsis here: http://hardboiledpoker.blogspot.com/2008/12/on-60-minutes-cheaters.html or you might even just read the transcript for yourself over at CBSNews.com: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/25/60minutes/main4633254.shtml. Either way, you can formulate your own ideas and opinions. For my sake and your own sanity though, just avoid the gloom and doom hypesters who are running about screaming "the sky is falling, the sky is falling!" Honestly, get over it.

I won't say that some things won't change over time in the poker world, but I don't know how much sway the show 60 minutes actually has over the populace anymore. Let's go back a bit and look at some other things that have happened in the past few years that were thought to be a death blow to online poker. Neteller was muscled out as the premiere online payment processor for all us degenerate gambler types, and various yaahooo's promptly started wailing and moaning. In the end, however we migrated elsewhere. Party Poker then pulled the plug on its U.S. operations and focused elsewhere and this was talked about around the virtual water coolers on various forums as a nail in the coffin of online poker. Now, there were a number of other online poker room casualties which opted to abandon the U.S. market, around this same time. But others stood fast, and to boot, a new crop of poker rooms sprung up as well. The numbers went down, but I rarely find myself waiting for a game online, even playing over at Bodog, which isn't recognized as the heaviest of hitters in the online poker community. The UIGEA (boo hiss hiss) was analyzed, debated and cried about when it came out, and still we were put on hold awaiting enforcement guidelines, etc... Well those came out... and they were late and continue to be argued. Now, many it seems blame this whole "poker-thing" on the Bush administration and seem to think that President Elect Obama's going to fix it all up. I very seriously doubt that too. If poker's the only thing he's got on his mind right now, we are in some sad shape indeed people. What I see are just the normal obstacles that seem always to crop up. I don't think there's a cure all for any of it. In the end American's are an ingenious lot, and we tend to find a way of working around a lot of government stupidity. We sometimes thrive despite it. I think there is still a long haul ahead, but eventually I think things will eventually turn around. The U.S. market will re-open its doors, and ultimately online poker will re-emerge from the shadows. Once again, I'll be free to risk the pennies, nickles and dimes that I've been risking all along, without concern for a pack of jack-booted thugs to come storming in guns-a-blazin'! Okay, that's bit over the top. You see, this is why I stay out of the arguments and discussions about poker and politics for that matter.

I've run off at the mouth long enough though.

Anyway, in the coming weeks leading up to Christmas, there's a lot of poker playing on tap for my fellow NDPT'ers and I to participate in. And in addition I hope to wade back out there on Bodog and reinforce the walls of the ole fledgeling bankroll. But next up on the agenda is #18 (last of the regular NDPTNDPT points season games) on December 6th at my house. The following weekend the Yanok's are pulling out ALL the stops and hosting their December qualifier(s) on December 12th, followed by the their End of the Year freebie tournament, where close to a Grand is on the line, and making me salivate right now. The following weekend again the action will shift back to my house, for the NDPT Year End Extravaganza, our annual $50 buyin game. A win in this one, could turn the whole year around for some lucky bastard. And I'm hoping to resemble that remark!!! Dare to dream cheer_dad!

I'm mulling over another post that I hope to put up tonight, but there are some pending actions which need to occur before I can do it the way I want. Hey, if it all works out, you'll know later tonight. If not, just pretend I never mentioned it. You didn't hear nuthin' 'bout nuthin'!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad